The focus of summer camps has shifted from simply providing fun for children to providing them with new knowledge and skills to meet parents’ increased expectations for their children, according to a camp director.
This summer, new programs are being offered by a variety of organizations that focus on a wide range of activities, from financial management, cooking and martial arts to Taiwanese opera, insect raising and disaster prevention and relief work.
Other camps are targeting young adults with courses that provide training in areas such as diplomacy and leadership training.
Photo: Chan Shih-hong, Taipei Times
In reaction to the devastating earthquake, tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster in Japan, camps that offer specific instruction on how to react to disasters and earthquakes have been quick to fill.
According to Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) Taipei branch deputy chairperson Ker Yan-mei (柯燕美), the changing focus of summer camps is a sign of a new era and parents’ increased expectations for their children.
In the past parents steered boys to physical activities, while girls were sent to learn household skills and programs were clearly separated by gender, Ker said.
However, these traditional stereotypes have changed and segregation by gender is no longer obvious at summer camps, Ker added.
For example, the YWCA summer camp cooking courses “Magical Chef” and “West to East Cuisine” were both filled to capacity and there were many boys enrolled in the programs, Ker said.
Families that rely on both parents to work often get their meals from fast-food chains or convenience stores, Ker said, adding that if children could learn some basic cooking skills they could help to introduce healthier and more nutritious food into their diets.
Cooking is an art form and it can teach many important lessons about how to manage life, as a cook has to know how to pick the right ingredients, marry flavors, cut, control the heat during cooking, present the dishes, clean up, put things back where they belong and not be wasteful, Ker added.
The YWCA has also opened martial arts summer camps and camps that focus on nature and the humanities.
For example, at one camp Air Force Major Wang Hui-jung (王慧蓉) was invited to share her experience of piloting a plane during the disaster-relief efforts following the devastating flooding brought on by Typhoon Morakot in August 2009.
To address the problem of uncontrolled credit-card debt, New Taipei City’s (新北市) Blue Sky Relaxation Association has launched a summer camp that teaches children how to save their “first barrel of gold,” as well as provides information about banks, currencies, funds, stock markets and insurance investments.
In addition to summer camps focused on financial management, programs have been launched that teach basic magic tricks, how to make nougat and croissants, as well as one that arranges for children to visit an Atayal tribe for lessons about weaving, wilderness survival and insect raising.
In Kenting, the Lung Jing Vacation Resort is holding a summer camp that uses the ocean as its classroom. With eight children to a class, the camp takes them snorkeling, diving, canoeing, fishing and star gazing.
In an effort to address the issue of schoolyard bullying, the China Youth Anti-communist National Salvation Corps started a camp called “Character — The Little Giant’s Morals Camp,” aimed at teaching children the importance of respect and empathy.
Camps focused on teaching children how to react and get to safety during fires and earthquakes, and how to prepare an earthquake kit, have also gained popularity this summer following the disaster in Japan.
TRANSLATED BY JAKE CHUNG, STAFF WRITER
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